This invention relates to a connector containing electronic parts such as a capacitor, a resistor and diode and, more particularly, to a connector in which an assembling operation is improved.
Electronic parts, such as a diode and a capacitor, are often connected to wiring connected to equipment. For example, a noise filter of a capacitor is interposed between a power source and the equipment to suppress noises produced in the equipment. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (Kokai) 3-187170 discloses a connector of the type that contains such electronic parts to simplify wiring.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a male metal terminal 1 has a terminal portion 1a at one end, a barrel portion 1b at the other end, and a lead soldering portion 1c extending perpendicularly from an axis of an intermediate portion of the metal terminal. A plate-like core 2 has mounting grooves 2a formed in one of its faces for mounting the male metal terminals 1 therein. The core 2 also has retaining pawls 2b formed on the other face for holding an electronic part 3. The pair of male metal terminals 1, each having a wire 4 compressively connected to its barrel portion 1b, is mounted respectively in the mounting grooves 2a of the core 2. The lead soldering portions 1c project through one face of the core 2. The electronic part 3 is held on the other face by the retaining pawls 2b, and leads of the electronic part 3 are soldered to the lead soldering portions 1c, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the core assembly of this construction is inserted into a housing 5 from its rear opening along guides 5a, and tabs of the metal terminals 1 extend through a partition wall 6 into a front fitting portion 7. An insulative filler 8 of an epoxy resin is filled in a space around the core assembly, thereby fixing the core assembly.
However, for assembling this conventional connector, the epoxy resin must be filled, with the wires 4 connected to the core 2, and therefore the efficiency of the operation has been poor. Moreover, because the wires 4 and their assorted metal terminals 1 are designed to be fixedly mounted on the core 2, so that the wires 4 of a predetermined length are fixed to the connector, the length of the wiring can not be easily adjusted depending on a location of equipment to be installed.
Furthermore, the metal terminals can not be removed from the connector. Therefore, if the already connected equipment needs to be connected to another power source, this can not be done by re-adjusting the length of the wires.
Moreover, the metal terminals, each having the wire compressively connected thereto, are mounted on the core. In this condition, the electronic part is mounted on the core, and then the soldering operation is carried out. Namely, the soldering operation must be carried out while holding the core with the wires. Therefore, a problem has been encountered in that the wires tend to become obstructive, so that the operation can not be carried out easily. For the same reason, there has arisen another problem that the operation is not suited for automation.
A further problem is that the housing is bulky because of the use of the core. A further problem still is that because the epoxy resin is molded within the housing to cover the electronic part as well as the metal terminals and the core, a large amount of the epoxy resin is required.
For compressively and simultaneously connecting both the lead terminal and the wire to the metal terminal, the lead terminal is superposed on that portion of the wire to be compressively connected, and then the superposed portions must be inserted into a compressive connecting device. However, the compressive connecting operation is usually effected manually, and therefore is very cumbersome. Naturally, this compressive connecting operation must be carried out before the electronic part and the metal terminals are inserted into the connector housing, and therefore the metal terminals must be inserted respectively into the metal terminal receiving chambers, with the electronic part connected between the metal terminals, and the lead terminals are liable to be bent, so that the operation can not be carried out easily. Therefore, the efficiency of assembling the electronic part-containing connector is very poor, and hence the productivity can not be enhanced by enhancing the operation efficiency.